3 Times Eliza Caught Alex Cheating
by WeBothWentMad
Summary: Three times that Eliza found Alex cheating on her and when he learned that she knew.
1. Chapter 1

Eliza Hamilton thought that coming home early from work would be a fun surprise for Alex. After all they both had been so busy with the kids and work, there had hardly been any alone time for them. She had picked up a bottle of wine and hoped that they could have a romantic night to themselves. All of the kids were either spending the night with a friend or spending the night with Angelica.

She carefully opened the front door and closed it with a small click. Eliza frowned at all of the lights being off in the foyer and the kitchen as far as she could see. Alex had been working from home all day, it didn't make sense that he would turn off all of the lights. Eliza walked into the kitchen, still slightly curious why Alex had thought of to turn all of the lights off. She set down her purse and the wine on the kitchen counter.

A mischievous smile lit up Eliza's face as she considered whether or not to scare her husband. After a second she figured that it would be a good idea. Alex was often getting the kids to team up with him to scare her. This would be some payback. She crept up the stairs, purposely stepping over the one creaky step. Alex's laughter echoed down the hall. Surprisingly, it sounded like it came from their bedroom. Eliza's face crinkled up, her husband liked to work until he couldn't keep his eyes open or she pulled him away.

It didn't make sense that Alex was away from his work and laughing in their bedroom. What was happening? Eliza walked further down the hall towards their bedroom, more curious now than anything about what had happened to Alex.

The sound of a female moaning caused Eliza to freeze. She felt her blood run cold, like ice had been inserted into her veins. She walked forwards without thinking her steps faltering slightly, she had to see if what her brain was telling her was true. She hoped that it was just a sound that her mind came up with and not an actual thing. Maybe she was hallucinating, and maybe everything was actually silent.

Eliza peeked through the slit in the door, the room was lighted with her scented candle that sat on their dresser. She felt her heart sink to the floor in pure shock. She could make out the figure that was her husband with legs wrapped around his hips, that were certainly not hers. She couldn't see whoever it was that her husband was with, and she didn't want to see.

Eliza turned away from the door and let her back silently hit the wall as tears streamed down her cheeks. She wanted to scream but no sound came out of her mouth. Her breathing grew heavier as the shock of what she saw started to settle in her mind.

There was no way he would do that. What she just saw completely shattered the confidence that she had previously had in her husband. That he loved her. If he loved her, he wouldn't be with another woman. She had thought that he would always be hers and she would be his. Except, Alex just tore that thought up into miniscule pieces. How long had he been doing this? Was she the cuckolded wife, who had no idea her husband was having an affair behind her back?

Clumsily, Eliza pushed herself off of the wall and tried to stumble down the stairs as fast as she could with tears blurring her vision. She had to get out of the house. She couldn't stay in the same place that her husband was having sex with another woman. Eliza needed to get as far away as she could until she calmed down. She hastily grabbed her purse, leaving the wine on the kitchen counter. The only semblance that she had been home. Eliza digged through her purse looking for her keys and once she found them she nearly cried out in relief.

The only sound was her heavy breathing as she tried to hold back her sobs. She couldn't cry yet. She would let herself cry when she was alone.

As soon as the front door shut behind her, Eliza couldn't help the sobs that were torn from her mouth. It felt like her whole world was crashing down around her. She leaned against the front door, feeling like all of her energy had been drained from her body.

To Eliza the warm summer night seemed to be the complete opposite of what Eliza felt. She felt like there should be a torrential rainstorm. As if all of her emotions were to be expressed through the weather, to show how broken she felt.

Shock remained in her blood stream as the thought of Alex with another woman blared in her mind like an alarm. Eliza didn't really see what the other woman looked like, besides that she had light mocha colored skin. It felt impossible that Alex would have ever been with someone else. Except, Eliza saw it with her own eyes. The proof had been right in front of her.

It proved that she wasn't enough for him. And probably never been.


	2. Chapter 2

Three Times Eliza Caught Alex Cheating

Chapter 2: Blocking Out the Noise

Ever since Eliza discovered that her husband was having an affair she had been walking on eggshells around him. Afraid she might say the wrong thing or break down. Around Alex, she forced herself to be numb, and around the children she tried to be her normal self. And ignoring the sadness that was threatening to constantly consume her.

She didn't tell Alex that she knew he was cheating on her. Eliza didn't know why she didn't say anything. She didn't want to face the consequences of it becoming even more real. She wanted to live in the world where they were still the happy family and there was nothing that could break it up. The signs he was cheating became more obvious. When he would say he was staying late at work or had to go to work on a Saturday. It was when he was with her.

The sound of a woman's moan played constantly on repeat in Eliza's head as well as the carefree laugh that came from Alex. It was all like a siren screaming that she wasn't good enough. That she had never been enough for Alex. And maybe she wasn't and it just took this for it actually set in.

Eliza blinked tiredly as she put her car into park after she pulled into the driveway of her and Alex's house. It was hard to call it a home when she had trouble sleeping in her own bed, knowing that another woman had been there. That another woman had Alex inside of her on that bed, the same bed that their children would climb into on Sunday mornings.

She looked up at the house and tried to swallow back the tiredness that was threatening to consume her. She could feel her stomach sink to her knees as she glanced up at her bedroom window, noting that the windows were dimmed. Similar to how it was when Alex was with another woman. Eliza tried to clear her mind and prayed that her thoughts wouldn't overwhelm her.

There were times when she still had trouble entering her house, for the fear that someone else was there. That Alex would have brought someone over, while she was gone. It had probably happened before, but the fear that it would happen again was constantly in the back of her mind.

Shadows drifted through Eliza and Alex's bedroom window and she could feel her stomach drop to her feet. Not again. Oh, please not again. This had to be her imagination. Just her mind playing previous events on repeat.

Eliza swallowed back her doubts and stepped out of the car. With trembling hands she unlocked the front door and moved silently as she set down her purse and keys. The house was dark, Eliza glanced at her watch and noticed that it was a bit after ten o'clock. She had to stay late at the orphanage to get last minute paperwork done. Eliza had thought that Alex would be able to take care of the kids and even have them in bed before she got back. No matter how much it killed her to not see her children before they went to sleep, it was the one time. And she would of course peek in their rooms once she got home.

Before, she could even think about checking on her children, she had to erase the worries that were plaguing her. That Alex had another woman in their bed again. He knew that she wouldn't be gone for long, there was no way that he would take the risk of having another woman over. Eliza went upstairs and tried to silence the echoing screams that resonated in her head that she wasn't good enough.

Her thoughts seemed to multiply by the thousands as she got closer to her bedroom. For a moment her mind was silent as she listened for any sign that she was enough. That Alex being with the other woman was a one time thing. Not something that had been going on for weeks, months or even years.

It was hard to pinpoint a time when he wasn't hers anymore. When he was only partly with her.

The sound of a moan broke through her thoughts. And her heart shattered for the second slipped down her cheeks like a waterfall. Eliza tried to steady her breathing, so they couldn't hear her. Oh god, she didn't want to to deal with this right now. She just wanted to see her children. And for a moment forget about her cheating bastard of a husband.

Eliza swiped her hand against her eyes in an attempt to wipe away her tears. She took a deep breath and tried to calm the heaving sobs that were threatening to swallow her whole. She wanted to cry. All she really wanted was to sit down and cry in peace damn it. To feel as if she had a chance to fall apart and not as if she had to keep it together for appearances sake.

A few moments later, when Eliza felt as if she had at least crafted herself back together for a while, she stood. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore what was obviously happening in her bedroom. The best solution would be to focus on her children. The children she had last seen that morning. It already felt too long.

Eliza walked the opposite way down the hall, towards the children's bedrooms. She lightly opened the door to her youngest, one year old John's room. He was sleeping soundly and Eliza could feel her heart slightly melt at the sight of her son sleeping. She could feel some of the despair that had been choking her a mere two minutes ago, slip away. Quietly, she closed the door, and walked the two steps to the next bedroom, where James and Alex Jr. slept.

She pushed open the door and was happy to see two out of her four sons asleep. She stepped into the room and walked over to her James. She brushed hair out of his face and couldn't help the soft smile that came over her face as she stared at her son. During the day he had boundless energy, like all of her other children. Being able to see him as peaceful as he was, filled her heart. Reluctantly, she stepped away and walked over to Alex Jr., she pulled up his blanket and tucked it further around his shoulders. Eliza sighed and walked back over to the door. She stole one last look at James and Alex Jr. before stepping out and closing the door behind her.

Eliza slowly opened Philip's door, and frowned at the sight of his desk lamp on.

"Hey." Eliza said lightly. Philip's head snapped up as he looked at her from the book he was reading.

"Hi." Philip said, a smile on his face. "You're home late."

"There was a lot of work at the orphanage. How was everything here?" There was a slight edge to Eliza's voice.

"It was fine. I think dad had a hard time handling everything. You make it look easy." Philip said playfully.

"Good." Eliza walked closer to him, until she was standing right next to his desk. She wanted to say more. To ask if he had any idea that Alex had invited another woman over. But, that would make it worse. To instill the idea that his father is cheating on her, it would crush him. Philip looked at his father like he was the sun, Eliza couldn't ruin that.

Philip's eyes were still scanning through the pages.

"Don't stay up too late." Eliza said as she leaned down and pressed a kiss against the top of his head.

"Alright, mom." Philip said, a knowing smile spreading across his face.

"Good night, Philip." Eliza said lovingly, as she walked back over to the door.

"Night, Mom." He was still reading, but she could hear the obvious love in his voice.

Eliza walked out of Philip's bedroom, feeling lighter than she had when she had walked into the house.

Lastly, was her daughter, Angelica's room. She pushed open the door and peeked in. Moonlight slipped in through the window and lit up Angelica's sleeping face. Eliza sighed and couldn't help but feel love fill her, it helped wipe away what she had witnessed earlier. It felt like her children had the ability to heal any wound, or at least take away the sting.

"Mama?" Angelica's said sleepily. Eliza looked over at her and admired the way that Angelica's eyes blinked sleepily and she seemed to be barely awake.

"Yes?" Eliza responded quietly.

"Could you lay down with me?"

Eliza hesitated for a moment. There was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to join her daughter. Another part of her also wanted to lock herself away in the bathroom to be able to cry away all of her problems.

"Of course, sweetheart."

Eliza walked over, slipping off her shoes before climbing into bed with her daughter. Angelica quickly snuggled into her mother's side and Eliza sighed lovingly.

Without her consent, Eliza felt her eyes drooping and her mind winding down. She blinked sleepily, and glanced down at her daughter. Angelica's breathing had slowed, and Eliza knew she was either already or just about in a deep sleep. Eliza wanted to allow herself to just fall asleep then and there. To sleep beside her daughter and let all of her worries and doubts slip away just for a night. To sleep peacefully, and not have dreams of Alex with other women. Before she could make a decision on whether or not to stay with her daughter, Eliza was already asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Anger settled low in Eliza's stomach as she opened the front door to her house. Immediately she heard a moan, that was female. The same one she heard the night that she first caught Alex, the same one she heard when she came home late from work. Instead of the all consuming numbness that seemed to overwhelm her when she was reminded of her husband cheating on her, Eliza felt anger simmering inside of her like a volcano.

Eliza had just gone to the grocery store, and told him that she would be back in an hour. She had been gone for a measly hour and his first thought was to let another woman into their bed. Even if all of their children were at school or day care, Alex thought that just because she was gone it was okay to let another woman in.

She wanted him to suffer for doing this to her. To their children.

It was an odd feeling in her, she rarely felt this way. Eliza had always been the one that was calm, collected and forgiving. Not seeking vengeance.

Purposely, Eliza slammed the front door loud enough for Alex to hear from their bedroom. She listened as the voices immediately ceased and she could hear the sound of Alex stumbling around.

"I'm home!" She called out trying to keep the malice out of her voice, taking the groceries into the kitchen and setting the bags on the counter.

"Hey," Alex said as he came downstairs. Eliza looked up and took in the way he looked. His hair was a mess, his shirt had been obviously just thrown on, his cheeks were bright red, and she could spot a smidge of red lipstick on his neck.

Eliza bit her tongue, and tried not to say anything about his state. She didn't know why she still hadn't told him that she knew. She thought that maybe if she didn't say anything it wouldn't be true. But, obviously that method wasn't working. The proof that he was cheating on her was right in front of her. What was she trying to do by hiding what she knew? It wouldn't lessen the burden. It only seemed to cause the weight to get heavier. Like she was slowly being crushed.

"What have you been doing?" Eliza asked in what she hoped was a neutral tone. She glanced up to see his hand fidgeting at his side. She resisted the urge to smirk at how obvious it was that he was uncomfortable.

"Just work."

"I've never seen you do work in your underwear and a t-shirt before." She said casually as she put away the groceries.

"I'm trying it out. It's going to be the next fashion trend." Alex said in what Eliza was sure was false confidence.

"I don't think so." Eliza glanced up at him, he had guilt written all over his face. "Have you done anything else?"

Eliza didn't know why she kept giving him chances to redeem himself almost as if she wished that he would just admit to it. Admit that he was cheating on her. Not hide behind some facade that he was still the perfect husband.

"No." Alex said and had a questioning look in his eyes. "Why?"

"You seem a bit" Eliza paused for a moment as she tried to find the right word to describe him. "Ruffled is all."

"Oh, okay." Alex said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I also thought I heard something when I came in." Eliza carefully gauged Alex's reactions to her words. "But it was probably nothing."

"Yeah." Alex said as he leaned against the counter.

Did he think she was stupid? That she hadn't realized what was happening? That she was the stereotypical cuckolded wife that had no idea her husband was having an affair.

"I'm going to go back to work." Alex said, motioning upstairs. He probably wanted to figure out a way to get that woman out of the house.

"Wait." The words slipped out of Eliza's mouth before she could stop herself.

Alex stopped short and gave her a questioning look. Before her anger could fade into the numbness Eliza felt herself speaking again.

"Why didn't you tell me?" There was a sharp tone in her voice. She could feel tears stinging in her eyes, the emotions that she had been feeling the past few months appearing again.

"What? Tell you what?" Alex asked, and she could hear him walking closer to her.

Eliza shook off the hand he placed on her shoulder and took a deep breath. Knowing that there was no way to go back from the conversation she was about to bring up.

"That you're cheating on me." The words came out quickly and she glanced up to see Alex freezing. His eyes were wide in shock, staring at her as if she was a mythical creature that miraculously appeared in their kitchen.

"Eliza, I'm not cheating on you."

If she hadn't seen it herself, she would have believed him. She would have believed that it all was some elaborate story that her imagination made up. Except, she saw it. She saw her husband with another woman. The proof was damning.

"Don't deny it." Eliza said as she turned towards him. Tears streamed down her face like a dam had been broken. Alex stepped towards her in an attempt to comfort her.

"Don't touch me." Eliza said with a hysterical note in her tone. She took a step back to avoid his touch.

Alex stepped back with his hands up. "Ok." He muttered.

Eliza swiped at her eyes with the back of her hands. She knew some of her mascara smeared, but at that moment she didn't care. It was like her carefully constructed life was shattered into pieces around her.

Alex ran his hand through his hair and for a moment his mouth moved without words coming out. As if he was trying to figure out exactly what to say.

"How long?" Eliza murmured, her voice breaking off.

"About a year." Alex gave in, his shoulders slumped and hesitantly looked at Eliza.

Eliza felt as if she wasn't able to breathe. She knew that he had been cheating on her for the past five months. But, a whole year? It further emphasized the fact that she wasn't enough for him and had started being so earlier than she thought.

"Eliza, I'm so sorry. She means nothing-" Alex started rambling in an inane attempt to either calm her down or to make it seem like his affair never happened.

"Stop!" Eliza said, her voice ringing out loudly in the kitchen. Causing Alex's mouth to promptly shut. "You're not sorry. That's the thing. You've been doing this for a year, you wouldn't have stopped. And obviously she means something to you. If she meant nothing, you wouldn't be hiding her, and the fact that she's upstairs right now."

Alex paled, and staggered back as if her words physically hurt him. Eliza felt a stab of satisfaction at his obvious hurt. A small part of her brain scolded herself for feeling good at his pain.

"Please, just go." Eliza said brokenly. She felt as if her energy had suddenly been zapped out of her body. "Do whatever, just leave me out of it for now."

Alex gave a faint nod, he looked as if his whole world had suddenly been broken up in tiny pieces and wouldn't be recovered any time soon.


End file.
